برني دارالسلام: Brunei Darussalem

Dear readers,

Many a boring day can be made interesting by reading my blog tracker statistics at work. I am fascinated by the plethora of nationalities that read my blog (if you are interested, I have now capped 45, and at least 37 of those have hit more than once). For instance, this morning I got to work and found that someone from a place I had never even heard of had read my blog last night. I proceeded to spend half an hour of what would otherwise have been Boring Time learning about this nation on the internet (mostly with the help of my friends Wikipedia and the CIA). After my half hour of Learning, I feel it best to dedicate this blog entry to the sultan of the little (yet mighty!) nation of Brunei Darussalem.

According to Wikipedia:

Brunei, Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: برني دارالسلام ), is a country located on the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the states of Sarawak and Sabah, East Malaysia. Brunei, the remnant of a very powerful sultanate, became independent from the United Kingdom in 1984.

The Sultanate of Brunei was very powerful from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century CE. Its realm covered the whole island of Borneo and the southwestern Philippines. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, whose title has passed within the same dynasty since the fifteenth century, is the head of state and head of government in Brunei. He is effectively the supreme ruler. There is no elected legislative body. Due to the absolute rule of the Sultan, Brunei is one of the most politically stable countries in Asia. The country has been under hypothetical martial law since a rebellion occurred in the early 1960s and was put down by British troops from Singapore.

The total population of Brunei is 383,000. The total landmass is 5,765 square km, making it the 170th largest country. The official languages are Malay and English. The climate in Brunei is equatorial tropical, with high temperatures, high humidity, sunshine and heavy rainfall throughout the year. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of its GDP. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing.

Hello? How much awesomer would Japan be if the government subsidized the freakin rice? Some of you may not know this. Rice, though eaten 3 times a day by most Japanese, is more expensive in Japan than almost anywhere else in the world (and fyi, I read a book about this once and the following babble is the fuzzy remnants still bobbing in the back of my brain from that experience). This is because the Japanese govt refuses to allow Japanese people to eat any rice that isn't Japanese, so even though its nonsensical for Japan to put so much effort into agricultural production when they could buy buttloads of rice at 1/20 the price from China, they do. Japan doesn't have much flat land for agriculture at ALL. Most of their rice paddies are propped precariously on mountains in tier formation, and jillions of hours of backbreaking toil are put in by family farmers, since machinery doesn't really work well on mountains and small plots (though Japan is also the most over-mechanized country in the world when it comes to farming equipment). Per acre, Japan is comparatively quite productive, but a lot more labor and time go into each acre than other places.

Basically the govt wants to be able to remain self-sustaining in case of catastrophe like another world war, so they need to maintain rice and fish production. They convince normal Japanese people that its a good idea to keep producing rice by telling them that all other rice in the world is far inferior to Japanese rice for XXX reasons, and probably that they will keel over and die if they ever touch a single grain. In fact, bringing rice into Japan is considered a serious CRIME. Yeah, no packing your favorite Canadian wild rice next time you get on the plane over here. You could actually be arrested for that. Though you re a gaijin and probably don't know any better.

That Hassanal knows what keeping people happy is all about.

too long

I know I've been here too long when things like this are no longer surprising. (YOU know I've been here too long when you look down and see that I'm wearing pink anime plastic bunny head slippers and thinking nothing of it.)
This Pokemon car was parked at school today. I don't know why, no. I don't ask how or who. I chose to simply appreciate it for what it was.

Zakimi Castle

Above: view of Cape Zampa from Zakimi castle wall.

You may have noticed that I've been doing lots of boring cultural-site-seeing posts instead of anything truly FUNNY, as some of you have gently put it to me in recent emails. Well, if I gave you all my funny, I wouldn't have any left for me, ok? Got to get through the day you know. Funny is as funny does.... its all cyclic my friends. One day in the future, I may once again be funny.

Above: US fighter jet blazes across the sky over Japanese couple on castle wall, doing stupid noisy war drills. Yankees go home!

Well, with the excitement surrounding Nakijin and Henoko, I utterly forgot to mention the trip to Zakimi castle on the blog. Zakimi is only 30 minutes from my house... first time I've been there... I know I'm lame, stop thinking it!

I am so lazy that I'm going to lift captions right off my Snapfish photo album (that my Real Friends already saw) and put them in this blog entry.

you see castle. Now, according to Okinawa legend, the dude who built this place is said to have had the stones from his former castle in Yamada moved one by one to Zakimi by forming a human chain of workers. What a loooooser. He can just get on a plane home with the yankees.

About the dude. This castle was built in the 15th century by an Okinawan warlord named Gosamaru. I may name my first born child after him. Or not. It has a majestic ring to it, doesn't it?

Left: we practice our karate kid moves in the dying sunlight, just in case Gosamaru's enemies show up and we would have to rough them up.

Ready for some more good old castle info from random websites?

"The ruins of Zakimi Castle are located in the central district of Okinawa Island, in Yomitan Village, close to the western seacoast. While the vast majority of Gusuku are built on Ryukyuan limestone hills that spread out in the central part of the island, one of the differing points of the Zakimi Castle ruins is that they are built on red earth named "Kunigami Ma-ji... The walls are constructed from cut Ryukyuan limestone. The arched gates built into each of the outer and inner walls are estimated to be the oldest in the Ryukyus."

Zakimi isn't a big castle, but it is free. Even better, you can go there at any time of the day or night. In fact, gatherings and celebrations are supposedly sometimes held at Zakimi during the full moon. Though I haven't seen this with my own eyes.

Lots of people (yours truly, tatoeba) go up to Zakimi to watch the sunset. The castle is built on a hill right over Cape Zampa and the ocean. And the sunset. Try doing dangerous balancing acts on the "keep out" sign pole if you want to have a good time. Dangerous as in, if you fell it would only be 2 feet. I guess unless you stumbled over that wall to the right, and then it would be 30 or so.

卒業式 (graduation ceremony)

My beloved children graduated last week without you even knowing. Ah, the little demons will now head out into the Great Beyond: a life of drudgery at cellphone shops and pachinko parlors for most of them, no doubt. The carefree days are over: Adulthood is here. This horribly sad event occurred last Thursday. Almost all of my favorite classes are 3rd year, so I too was depressed about my future. Luckily I've got 2 or 3 classes that keep me going in the second years.... first years are all just bad uns.

It was a graduation ceremony not unlike our own in America.

I say that. But who am I to talk? I sooo didn't go to my high school graduation. Ok, I have no idea if it's similar or not, but I would bet you that there was certainly a lot more bowing involved here. As the tinkle-tinkle music box song played in the background, every single kid got their name read, bowed to the teacher, got the certificate, bowed again, walked down the stairs, bowed to the administrative head and VP, bowed to the teachers, sat down. I got so bored after a while that I started counting things.

*Number of students who tried to bow and walk at the same time and fell down the stairs: 8

*Number of students who stopped at the top of the stairs and yelled something inappropriate at the top of their lungs: 12. Like, a high pitched, "GINOWAN HIGH IS AAAAAWESOME!!!!!!" giggle giggle run away.

*Number of kids who actually fell asleep in their seats during their own graduation ceremony: about 1/5. Yeah, my kids are sleep-in-their-seat MEISTERS. If there's one thing you ever learned from my blog, let it be never go up against a Japanese kid when it comes to sleeping. And those are true words of wisdom.

Above, you see a Japanese graduation tradition called the 花道 (hanamichi) Road of Flowers. After the graduation ceremony, all friends, family, and peers wait along the sides of the walkway and the 3rd years all do a spectacular slow-mo exit of the gym. Flowers are pressed upon them from all sides! Strategically placed bubble-blowing-girls work hard to create an atmosphere of mystical heroism! And most bizarrely of all, necklaces made of strung together candy bars are draped around their necks by their peers.

Then, there was the Graduation Party. This is the equivalent to the American PROM. Except that it is nothing like the prom. Though once again, I find myself talking out of my ass. I didn't go to my prom OR my graduation. I was Disgruntled Youth. Well, I was pleased to be invited to the Graduation party by the students at any rate. I was told that it would take place from 6-9pm at the ugly building next to the fire station, and Id get free snacks but that there would be no dancing, no one would talk to me, and beyond that female and male students wouldn't talk to each other. So I was unsure what to expect. It surely didn't sound like a prom. No dancing? What were they going to do? I figured they'd all just show up in their school uniforms and chow down for a few hours. Boy was I wrong. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that people cant dress fancy just because their party is in an ugly building with folding chairs. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for having chosen to wear a skirt instead of jeans (yeah, bad ideas like that seem really good to me at times) when I walked in and found 100s of spectacularly garbed students. I didn't recognize most of them without their school uniforms, natural hair, and seating numbers. It was certainly the prom. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of the really good ones. Some of the girls, for example, where wearing tiaras and ball gown get ups. Some interesting fashion differences that I shall note for you here between American and Okinawan kids:

* boys like to wear large, fake jewel earrings. Like a big multi-faceted amethyst stud. And I mean, BIG. Usually 2 in one ear.

* No matter what the rest of their outfit looks like, girls will have a shawl draped around their shoulders. Showing boob outline must be a big big no-no here. I mean, they had slits up to their panties in the dresses, 3 inch heels, insane extensions in their hair but a jacket or shawl was always present.

Something I found funny was that between the time that school graduation ended (about 2pm) and the party started at 6pm, nearly 20% of the boys had bleached their hair blond.

I am an adult! Hear me ROAR! This statement cries, in this culture. In reality it cried,

I have bad taste and ugly hair now! I know never to trust Shouhei again with powerful chemical substances near my scalp!

But it makes sense. School kids aren't allowed to wear earrings or dye their hair, even highlights. Thus the tawdry glass earrings and blinding hair.

Above, Junko sensei with 3 boys from her homeroom class, as well as her daughters.

So, they were right about the party being a bit lame. I sometimes forget that Japanese kids are way behind American in inter-gender relations. They really didn't talk to each other at all. They must have spent hundreds of dollars doing their hair and nails and buying their outfits but the only thing that happened was that the girls stood on one side of the room, the boys on the other, they giggled, then they toasted cola, they wished that they were courageous enough to talk to each other and did a lot of blushing, then they ate, then the big party event. The real fun. The true excitement.... yeaaaaaa you know whats coming.....

WE PLAYED BINGO!!!!!

Futenma Shrine

A few days ago I went to the Futenma Shrine for the first time. Why I never made it before... a mystery, since it is relatively close to my house. Left you see the view of the shrine from the highway (its right at the intersection of the 81 and 330 in Ginowan, if you want to go).
The most interesting thing about the Futenma shrine is the caves beneath it. If you ask nicely, a priestess in training (all dressed in white with those socks specially made with a big toe space and flipflops... you know) will let you back into the caves. To the left you see the entrance to the caves, and a priest in training sweeping the rocks.
To the left here, you see the prayer plaques of Okinawans that come to the shrine, hanging outside.
Then, if you turn around and go down the stairs, you will see this: The hanging paper cutouts are prayers, left by the priests and priestesses. They are wrapped around rocks in random places. Random only to the ignorant such as I, no doubt. To the right, the cave continues back. It isnt too big, but makes for a nice little walk away from civilization, right under the highway and bustle of Ginowan. It`s nice to hear the silence of caves (I assume you all understand what I mean by that, if you've been in a cave) in the middle of the city. Below is the view of the shrine from down inside the cave, right where it opens. Like a different world isn't it? Very peaceful.

Nakijin Castle

The same day that we went to Henoko, we went to Nakijin castle, which is located on the Motobu peninsula (near Nago, where Christina, Amy, and the Pineapple park all live). This was my first time to visit ANY of Okinawan's castles, if you'll believe it. I've halfheartedly been trying to hold out for my sister Sandi's visit at the end of this month, but I just couldn't make it. (Don't worry Sindi we'll go again.)

Here are some photos of the castle structures. The 1st and 3rd are of one of 2 shrines within the castle walls that have been preserved. One shrine is to water, the other to something I forgot.

"the remaining walls of Nakijin Gusuku (Castle) stand like stone ghosts amidst the surrounding wild mountains. After having survived the ravages of war, countless typhoons, and the aging process of time, this once magnificent fortress has become a symbol of Okinawa's ancient past. "

Yeah. What a random site on the internet said. I've no time for creating my own words! Nakijin is cool though. A long time ago (before the Ryukyu kingdom was unified) my island was roughly 3 different kingdoms: north, middle, south. And of course, the outer islands like Miyako and Ishigaki were something else entirely. Hokuzan, the northern kingdom, had its home base here at Nakijin, on a cliff overlooking the sea.

"Archaeologists estimate that construction on Nakijin Castle began at the end of the 13th century - over a hundred years before the beginning of the Ryukyu Dynasty."

Here are some nature shots from our rambles through Nakijin's grounds.

"One of Nakijin Gusuku's most striking features was its enormous size. The castle's total land area covered approximately 14 acres, making it the largest gusuku to have existed during its time."
So I guess they're saying that bigger is better. Or something. I don't know about that, but I sure liked the flowers.

2 questions

Is this a cafe, and is it named "Village People", or is it just me?

Would you pay 40 yen more for your water if it was "freestyle water"? Yeeeeah you would!

Henoko

Last weekend three hearty adventurers set off bright and early Saturday morning in search of a reported boating festival in Kin town. Upon arriving in Kin, said festival was nowhere to be found, and all organizers or people with knowledge of the festival were not answering their phones. Did we give up hope? NO! First, we decided to wander around Kin`s murky US-military-bar clad streets, in hopes that the traditional Okinawan boating festival would pop out of one of them and yell surprise! The walk did us good though, as J had yet to see a truly Americanized part of Okinawa. To the right here, you see a shocking example of how the atmosphere in Kin is quite different than where we live.

After that, we had the marvelous idea to venture out to Henoko.
If you dont know about Henoko, then I will give an brief explanation You could also read this article.

- Futenma airforce base is really big and smack in the middle of a very populated area. Below is an aerial view of my city, Ginowan, where Futenma is currently located (that big empty part in the middle):
Specific areas of my city (that's right, we're talking places with preschools, homes, playgrounds, etc) are designated "danger zones" 1, 2, etc. because bad things sometimes happen due to Futenma... like planes falling out of the sky and killing people. Also, daily flight practice with fighter JETs is very loud and shakes the windows of our schools. I once read about these findings that the constant noise of the fighter jets was giving Okinawan kids weird problems like the jitters and ADD or something. Check this out, from 2002 newspaper article:

Two hundred residents living around the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station filed suit against the Government of Japan ...on Wednesday for compensatory damages from the noise caused by military planes flying over their residences....

Their demands are as follows: to set a flight ban from the hours of 7pm to 7am, to ban airplane engine tests making noise over 55 db, to ban any noise over 65db, to abide by environmental conservation laws, to compensate for damages incurred in past years and expected future years.

One of the plaintiff group, Mrs. Tatsuno Kuba, joined the suit with her six family members. Housewife Kuba stated, "In the suit, I want to appeal against the unacceptable noise damage and the fear of a plane crash every minute a military plane skims over our roof." She also wanted the people of Nago City, the relocation site of Futenma, to pay attention to the suit.

Not to mention I have to drive a billion km around stupid Futenma to get to from point A to point B if those points are unlucky enough to be on either side of the base.

Ok, I'm getting back to the short of the story. Short and dirty. In 1995 three US soldiers kidnapped, raped and severely beat a 12 year old Okinawan school girl. Since then, there has been immense pressure on the US and Japan on both an international and national level to "do something"; some symbolic thing at least to look like they're helping the situation. Of course they don't really care, but what they did was promise to remove Futenma and give back the land. Now, it was a bit misleading. Instead of "removing" it, they're just "moving" it. Which sucks, because Okinawans have been peacefully protesting for 50 years trying to get the US killing machine away from their homes and lives and I think people finally thought they were going to get rid of Futenma. NOOOOOT!

Where have they decided to move it to? They are going to build a huge floating heliport off the Okinawan Northern coast at Henoko. Is it a bad idea? Of course it is! The biodiversity in the sea and coral reef at Henoko is amazing. Not only does the plan involve drilling deep into the coral reef (and killing it, along with messing up all the unique biodiversity there), but this particular area happens to be the home of the Okinawan dugong: an endangered marine creature. Henoko bay (where they're building the thing) is the dugong's feeding area where they live and where their special seaweed grows n shtuff:-((((Grrrrrrrrr, I don't heart you, Japan and US! Oh, right. Its also home to a lot of Okinawans who really dont want 4,000 marines and their ginormous base and constantly roaring/flying/crashing jet fighters to become a part of their rural northern community. Unfortunately, Okinawans economy sucks so the fact that a base would create lots of jobs is a major attraction for a lot of people up there... but they would have to accept the bad with the good.
PHOTO: 1,000 paper dugong @ Henoko headquarters.

Here is a picture of serene Henoko bay where they are planning to build the heliport:

When we got up to the beach at Henoko, Jeff played his Journalist Card (this gets him in everywhere) and soon we found ourselves comfortably seated in the make-shift headquarters of the Henoko protest movement, listening to Jeff interview an important senior member of the organization as a free-roaming chicken pecked at our feet and we flipped through informational photo booklets about the history of the movement (I really wish I had a copy of one of these, I would have so many more interesting things to say right now, but you know my memory...)

After the interview, they offered to take us to see the wall. The wall is this barbwire barricade between the military and Okinawan land out on Henoko beach. People come from all over Okinawa and write messages of peace or protest on scraps of colored cloth and tie them to the barbed wire. We also wrote on a hanky and tied it to the wall.